Couple to marry in Hoosier heartland

Jeremy Lemmons and Hannah Conklin were excited to have a cousin, Courtney Jo Lemmons, take their engagement pictures for their upcoming wedding. The tractor is an antique Farmall that belonged to Jeremy’s great-grandfather. It was purchased in 1959, given to Jeremy by his great-grandmother when she passed away in 2001 and restored by Jeremy and his father in 2009.

RUSHVILLE, Ind. — The crops are in the ground and love is in
the air for one small town couple whose love story began six years ago in
Rushville.

Jeremy Lemmons and Hannah Conklin met in high school band,
where they played trombone. After graduating, both journeyed to Ball State
University, where she studied English education and he studied zoology.

“We are high school sweethearts because that’s when we
started dating,” Conklin said. “It was my senior year and his sophomore year. We
had two years of a long-distance relationship when I went to college. We’re
really glad that’s ending soon.”

Their relationship grew, even when they were apart. Last
March, on their five-year anniversary, Lemmons drove Conklin to the countryside
to stargaze.

They were lying in the bed of his Ford truck and staring at
the night sky when he got on one knee.

“We were lying there, and he gets up to propose,” Conklin
recalled. “I was just like, “What are you doing?” I didn’t know if I should get
up or stand up, so I just sat there.”

They both laughed and glanced at each other while
remembering the moment.

“We’re getting married July 6,” Conklin said. “We have had a
long engagement, so it’s nice that the planning has been slow and steady. We
don’t have to do it all at once. His cousins have been really helpful. They are
very creative people, and I’m not.

“One of his cousins is doing our flowers. She and her sister
are throwing a shower, and they volunteered to decorate the reception. It’s less
that I have to do, with everybody pitching in.”

Conklin just ended a semester of teaching at Southwestern
Junior-Senior High School in Shelbyville and now has a few weeks off to get
ready for the big day.

With the support and help of family and friends, the couple
is excited to pull of a vintage-style wedding. The ceremony will be at a church
in Rushville with a reception to follow in Shelbyville.

They are expecting around 250 guests at the wedding.

After tying the knot, they will dance the night away to a
mix of country and jazzy music. They have planned a fried chicken dinner with
all the fixings to enjoy with their loved ones.

“We’re going to ride away in my truck,” Lemmons said.

“We’ll have the best man and maid of honor drive it, and
we’ll be in the back with the rest of the wedding party.”

“Not the children though — they are really tiny,” Conklin
added. “The oldest one is 6.”

The bridal party will consist of five groomsman, five
bridesmaids and four children that will be the flower girls and ring bearers.
Their wedding colors are pink and brown.

“The tractor might reappear in some of the pictures,”
Conklin said. “Even though it is red and clashes with pink. But that’s
OK.”

Lemmons is a tractor enthusiast and spends his time at
tractor pulls and working on tractors with his father, who is a farmer and
mechanic. He also loves animals and plans on working as zookeeper after
graduating this summer.

“I love animals, and I love working with them,” he said. “I
think working at a zoo would be one of those jobs where you’d wake up and
actually want to go to work in the morning.”

“He really likes animals, but not so much pets,” Conklin
added. “Although he has some fish that we’ll take to our house. My theory is if
we don’t kill the fish, we can get a cat. If we can take care of the cat, we can
get a baby.”

Lemmons and Conklin have a great sense of humor and are
constantly making each other laugh. They are excited and ready to get married
and start their life together. They plan on traveling to Yellowstone National
Park for their honeymoon.

They hope to see all the highlights and attractions, go on a
couple adventures and take in all the sights while they there. After their
vacation, they will return to a house located near their families.

“We’ll be living in a house in Shelbyville,” Lemmons said.
“We have a barn. There will be some tractors out there some day.”